How Does Windows File Sharing Work

File Sharing is a very helpful feature of the Windows operating system that helps the users of a computer share the files of the computer with other users in the same network. This avoids the need to copy the files from one computer to the other. This article discusses the working of the file sharing feature of the Windows operating system. You can also contact our computer tech support team to know more on the Windows file sharing feature.

Local Set Up

This feature is used to share files between computers running Windows OS, which are on same network or remote systems. In this, the host computer must be first set up with the file sharing system. In the host computer, the user should go to the files or folders that they have to share and right click on the items to be shared.

By this way, they will be able to configure the settings of the Windows file sharing. The users can decide which all users should be able to access the shared files and whether the file sharing feature should be password protected. This can be done from the Security and Sharing options.

Firewall Configuration

Microsoft suggests all users to enable the Firewall settings. This will protect the computer against the incoming network connections that are not verified. The firewall prohibits the file-sharing feature from working properly; therefore, the user must edit the firewall settings on the host computer for file sharing to work correctly.

Either the user can edit the Control Panel settings to allow the file sharing as an exception to the firewall rule or shutdown the Windows Firewall completely. Following any of the above methods will allow the file sharing to work properly.

Remote Access

Remote Access In Windows

After the host computer is setup for file sharing with the correct firewall settings, other users on other remote computers can start to access the shared files from the host computer. For single time access, the user in the remote computer may type in the Run window the name of the host computer together with the location of the shared files.

By doing this, the remote computer will contact the IP address of the host computer and will open a new Windows Explorer window which contains the shared files. The user can also map a network drive to the host computer in My Computer window of the remote computer. This will make sure that the remote computer connects to the shared files each time it starts up.

This is how the Windows file sharing feature works in the Windows OS. Windows support for such file sharing options makes it the most preferred OS among business and home users alike.

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